Japanese Charleville molds

[webstell]

Hi, long time lurker. Have perused these forums for probably 5 years or so. Lots of great info here and a huge resource.

Just bought what I believe is a Japanese made Charleville. Markings were removed but stock is a two piece and it looks like someone made a poor attempt at trying to rethread the ramrod to std threads. Just looking at getting a mold for this and I think I know what I want but would like to run it by you folks first as this is my first muzzleloader ever...

Anyways, with my calipers the bore appears to be about .686 (I know, not the most accurate but will have to do). So here is what I was figuring...

.686 - .650/2 = .018

.018 from the sounds of things is the most common size for pillow ticking. So if I want to shoot prb it looks like .650 is what I am after. Don't know if I should take into account the compression of the fabric or not which would mean I would need a larger ball then I am figuring on. I am curious what you fellas with Japanese Charlevilles shoot with prb as well.

I gather I can get these custom molds from Jeff Tanner and/or Callahan bag molds. So what do you guys figure? Does this sound like the mold size I need for prb. Usage will be hunting and target practice. Read lots of good stuff about Tanner's molds, haven't seen much about Callahan's. Anyone use his molds? We'll thanks in advance...

 

[Rifleman1776]

You are on the right track with the mould. Size not as critical with a smoothie as rifled but ease of loading is a big consideration. Do not get too tight a fit.
However, the two part stock is a big red flag. It may be a ca. 1970 El Cheapo import from Spain. Do get is checked out before firing.

 

[Ken Cormier]

Plus 1 on that info.

 

[bigburk]

My Japanese Charleville has a two piece stock and I have settled on a .662 round ball with pillow ticking patch. Loads easy and shoots pretty good.

 

[spudnut]

Did Miriku make a charley too?

 

[webstell]

Just some pics. I don't think it's an el cheapo made in Spain but you fellas are a better judge of that then I.

 

[flattail]

Nothing "El Cheapo" looking about that. Looks like it should be good for years of shooting. Someone "defarbed" that barrel, but it sure looks like a quality assembly.
Have fun.
Ed

 

[webstell]

Lyman makes that mold correct? How many shots do you get before you have to wipe the barrel? What does your ticking measure out to? Thanks in advance...

 

[tenngun]

You have lots of leeway on a smooth bore, So you might want to contct a company like track of the wolf or pecotonic and buy severl different ball sizes to see what works best for you before you buy a mold.
Traditionaly smooth bores were shot with wadding instead of a patched ball. A wadded ball can give you hunting accuracy out to 50 yards or so. Patching will give you farther. Check out some of the theads about making paper cartridges.With those you can shoot 20 or more shots between swabing the bore.Having a smaller ball fo a traditional cartridge will not give you the best accuracy. A larger ball will decrease your number of shots but will increase your accuracy. In general try to get in to the habit of wiping betwen shots, This decreases miss fires, increses accuracy and makes it easier to clean in the end. If you patch swabing between shots makes it a lot easier to load

 

[bigburk]

your gun looks like a twin to mine which says Dixe Gun Works and Miroku on it. I got the .662 Lyman mold from Amazon. Looking at my target from my last trip to the range I shot 10 round balls at the paper and I would guess at least that many shot loads at paper and other stuff. I used beef tallow to lube my round ball patches and also put some on my cushion wad (tp) when loading shot. No wiping until the end. 70 gr of Swiss 2F and 1 and 1/4 oz shot pulverized clays at 25 yards. Of course they weren't flying. Maybe next trip I'll try some in the air.

 

[webstell]

That sounds good. Thanks for the info. Does your musket also have a loose fitting front band? If so do you find it problematic for accuracy? Have you tryed shimming it some how? Mines fits a little loose but it looks like it always goes back into the same position due to spring pressure on it so I think it will be OK but am tempted to try shimming it somehow. Thanks again.

 

[bigburk]

The rear barrel band (closest to the lock) is the loose one on my musket and I have tried several different shims but haven't found a satisfactory solution yet. I'll bet someone on this forum has a fix for us. As for accuracy......I just started playing with the Charleville this summer and it is the first flintlock and first smoothbore experience for me so there are lots of issues about accuracy but I don't think the loose barrel band is the culprit. If I do my job I can get some good groups and I will admit it is a whole lot of fun learning.

 

[webstell]

Ok sounds good. Your probably right, someone probably has a fix for us on here, hopefully someone will chime in or I will start a new topic at some point, once I get to shoot it. The only reason I was concerned about accuracy was that the front sight is on the front band.

 

[Many Klatch]

Tanner's moulds are better for casting a lot of ball at home. Callahan's molds are meant for casting ball over a campfire.

For smoothbore roundball accuracy, I think you will find that a ball with a .010 spit patch will give you the best results.

 

[nwtradegun]

track of wolf lists 662 and 648 rd ball on page 3 of ammut. list http://www.trackofthewolf.com/list/Item.aspx/127/3
why mold .

 

[bigburk]

I'll be anxious to hear about your first shooting session with the musket. I hope you have as much fun as I have had.

 

[bpd303]

I cast my own for the satisfaction of shooting something I've made myself along with the cost savings. TOW gets $11.90 for 25 cast balls + shipping. I can cast over 1000 balls for that amount of electricity to run my pot and as a bonus it's relaxing and the lead is free for a little scrounging.

 

[webstell]

Well for one I would like to make my own and two I live in Canada. Shipping anything from the states has become prohibitively expensive. No retailers up here for black powder stuff, not enough demand. The two local stores I have access to that sell firearms stuff (local retailer and one big box) have nothing in the way of blackpowder stuff and I mean zero. One reason for this is that we don't have blackpowder hunting seasons up here. The majority want the next uber-magnum and as such the retailers cater to those folks. Most of us have to order across the line if were interested in this kinda stuff. Thankfully we can still get goex up here if you look hard enough. Nice to see the .648 tho. For a second I got excited and thought you said they had a .648 mold. lol

 

[webstell]

Will definitely report back once I gather what I need to feed and maintain this charleville. May take a while tho as it all has to snake its way thru customs once I order everything unfortunately.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Have you checked with Loyalist Arms, being a Canadian outfit I hope they can help you?